Ghost
by smileysgoboing
Summary: In which Itachi is not as subtle as he thinks he is. ItaSaku. Non-mass AU (same as Observations and Masked). Oneshot. Complete.


_one_

Having just returned from her third ANBU mission and her first with Squad Nine, led by the famous Uchiha Itachi, Sakura is relieved to be back in Konoha. She'd been so worried about screwing up the mission, especially with Itachi as her captain, but with the mission over, she lets herself relax – but only a little, because Itachi is making his report to the Hokage. Fortunately, the mission had gone smoothly, even with Shisui's injury – it had been relatively minor and easy to heal, and Sakura thinks she performed pretty well overall.

Itachi makes no comment on her as he finishes his report, which she supposes she should be grateful for – it's better than a bad comment, after all. Tsunade jots down one last note and glances up. "You can take your masks off, by the way," she says dryly.

Sakura pulls off her mask with relish, enjoying the sensation of fresh air against her skin and the unobstructed view of the Hokage's office. Beside her, her teammates – Genma, Shisui and Itachi – do the same; Shisui catches her eye and grins as he ruffles his hair into his signature messy spikes. Sakura smiles back, then turns to Tsunade and holds out her mask.

"Wait."

Itachi is beside her in an instant, his hand clamped gently around her wrist, preventing her from moving her arm forward any further. She nearly punches him, but settles instead for giving him a confused look. "Keep it," he says at last, pulling her arm down lightly until it rests by her side again before releasing his grip.

"Haruno-san performed well on the mission," Itachi continues in response to Tsunade's raised eyebrow, his calm voice belying the swiftness of his actions. "She proved herself to be more than capable of handling ANBU missions, as well as a valuable member of my team. I would like to have her assigned to my squad in the future." He glances towards her and inclines his head. "If she wishes, of course."

Sakura stares at him incredulously – her mouth may or not be hanging open – until Tsunade speaks up, smirking. "Well?"

"Yes, of course," Sakura blurts, blushing slightly. "I would be honoured to a part of your team in the future, taichou. As long as it doesn't interfere with my missions with Team 7, though," she adds hastily.

"Very well," Itachi says nonchalantly, as if his approval of Sakura as a member of his squad was nothing. He steps back into line with the others and bows. "Hokage-sama."

"Dismissed." Tsunade's tone is brisk, but she catches Sakura's eyes as she leaves and smirks.

* * *

_two_

"Dismissed."

Outside the Hokage's office, Sakura grimaces at the thought of having to put her mask back on again. It's standard procedure even within the village since no one but the Hokage is meant to know the identities of ANBU operatives – meant, being the key word; there are a few in the village that _everyone _knows are in ANBU.

Shisui winks at her before he pulls on his own mask, his grin vanishing behind his dog mask. With a quick nod to Itachi, he and Genma disappear from sight, presumably on their way to ANBU Headquarters. Sakura puts on her own mask, shifting it slightly and blinking to adjust to her new line of vision, and prepares to do the same.

"Sakura."

She turns her head towards him with a small, confused frown. "Taichou?"

"I would like to apologise for my earlier behaviour," Itachi says, placing a hand on her shoulder. "And also to thank you for healing me, even if they were a result of my…unreasonable actions."

"You're welcome," Sakura says, surprised by his choice of topic. "Still, it's my job to heal people, even if they are stupid – otherwise Naruto and Sasuke would probably be dead," she adds dryly. "Just remember what I said to you, about taking care of yourself, okay?"

Itachi simply looks at her – she has the feeling he would have blinked in surprise, if he wasn't so good at hiding his emotions – but then he smiles at her. She's taken aback by the sincerity of it, but as she flounders for the verbal equivalent of an answering smile, Itachi takes his hand off her shoulder and pulls on his own mask. "Let's go," he orders.

"Yes, taichou."

* * *

_three_

"Well done, as usual," Tsunade remarks. "Squad Nine, dismissed. Sakura, stay behind."

Sakura nods, watching as her teammates bow. The synchronisation of their movement is something that came as a result from many meetings with the Hokage, and after several months of serving with Squad Nine, it feels strange not bowing with them.

Genma, Tenten – assigned to the squad for this particular mission – and Itachi file out; her captain is the last to leave, and as he turns to exit the room, his arm brushes against hers lightly. He's so close she can feel a faint warm radiating off his body, and if it weren't for the fact that she knew that Itachi was far too graceful to do something so clumsy, Sakura would've said he bumped into her.

"So, how are you finding ANBU?" Tsunade asks.

"Fine," Sakura says, shrugging. "Since I'm not directly involved with the missions, I don't have to do much. And my teammates are skilled enough that they don't get injured often."

"Fair enough," Tsunade says thoughtfully. "But Itachi said he sustained several injuries in his report. In fact, he's been injured on almost every mission."

"Only minor injuries," Sakura points out, almost guiltily, because she's pretty sure that Itachi received some of those injuries when trying to protect her. "But it's probably just exhaustion – Squad Nine is sent out pretty often, and he probably takes solo mission in between."

"He's overworking himself," Tsunade grumbles, shaking her head disdainfully. "Getting careless. But he's not the only one." She fixes Sakura with a stern look. "You've been taking shifts at the hospital and going on missions with Team 7 _and_ accompanying Squad Nine on their missions."

"I can handle it."

"For now, maybe, but you're starting to get careless," Tsunade says harshly. "You can't afford to make mistakes, especially on ANBU missions. You're the medic, and your teammates can get hurt protecting you." As Sakura opens her mouth to defend herself, Tsunade adds, "Perhaps they already have."

For a moment, Sakura simply stares at Tsunade, but then her gaze drops to the ground, her shoulders hunching forward slightly. "Yes, shishou," she murmurs finally, shame colouring her voice.

"I'm taking you off the hospital roster for now," Tsunade says, almost gently. "Dismissed."

Sakura manages a small smile as she bows, because she knows Tsunade cares about her. "Bye, shishou."

* * *

_four_

"Go, Sakura!" Shisui cheers, half-sprawled on the ground.

"You're distracting her," Genma drawls from beside him, senbon in mouth yet again.

Sakura smiles grimly, not daring to take her eyes of Itachi as he darts towards her. His palm slices through the air, aimed at her stomach, but she jumps backwards, arching her back as his other hand sweeps across her shoulder. In the same instant that she lands, Itachi crouches low and tries to kick her legs out from beneath her – tries, because a quick burst of chakra has Sakura launching herself into a back handspring and away from him. She can hardly get a hit in because he moves so _fast_ – not as fast as Shisui, of course, but fast enough that she has no has to focus entirely on evading his hits.

"You're doing well, Sakura-san," Itachi says, his voice calm and steady despite the fact that he's in the middle of a sparring match. "But if you can get three hits in the next five minutes, I will concede the match to you."

"Deal," Sakura pants back, and even before she finishes speaking, she sprints towards him, hands curled into fists by her side. As expected, Itachi dodges smoothly, angling his body so that her right hand skims over his chest. He snatches her other hand – aimed at his stomach – and pulls it none-too-gently in the other direction. Ignoring the pain in her shoulder, Sakura follows the momentum of her arms and twists, her back towards him for an instant, before she kicks up and over his shoulder. There's no hesitation – she spots the slightest opening and _moves_, landing a strike on his upper back. While Itachi lurches forward from her blow, she hooks her leg around his, hoping to knock him to the ground.

Her strategy is somewhat successful, although it ends up backfiring on her. Sakura realises this when she finds herself sprawled on her back, Itachi using his full weight to pin her arms down with his knees on either side of her legs. Clearly, she has underestimated him – he managed to twist around mid-fall so she took the brunt of the impact. Sakura spends a moment wheezing for air and calculating the possibilities of escape, and decides against it. In any other situation, she would've bene able to use her chakra-enhanced strength to break his grip, but the landing has winded her. "Yield," she gasps.

Itachi rolls off her immediately, landing in a crouch beside her. "Are you alright?" he asks.

"I'm fine," Sakura answers, letting her breathing even out a little more before she sits up. Itachi nods and takes her arm, pulling her upright smoothly. His hand drops to his side, fingers ghosting down the length of her arm and leaving a lingering warmth she quickly dismisses. "Thanks, taichou."

"You're welcome, Sakura."

"You nearly got him!" Shisui says brightly – a little optimistically, in her opinion.

Sakura shrugs and makes a face. "Thanks, but I don't really think I could've made the three hits."

"No, you did well," Itachi corrects, smiling faintly down at her. "Your taijutsu is admirable – you landed two hits, and had you not…miscalculated the second, you would have been able to win."

"Thank you," Sakura says, blushing slightly at his praise – after all, it's not every day that one of Konoha's best shinobi compliments you.

"You should train with us more often," Shisui suggests. "Then you can have a rematch with Itachi."

"What about–"

"We're not saying you ditch your team," Genma interrupts. "Train with us once or twice every week, to help round out your skills."

"Training with us will help you improve in all aspects, including genjutsu. We are more than willing to help you, Sakura," Itachi adds quietly.

She blinks. "Thank you," she blurts, caught off guard by the sincerity of his words, but a grin begins to spread across her face. "I'd love to train more with you guys."

Any doubts she might have had are gone when she sees Itachi's answering smile.

* * *

_five_

Sakura frowns as the glowing chakra around her hands begins to splutter and fade. "He'll be okay for now," she says finally, reaching up to brush strands of pink hair out of her eyes. "I've healed him as much as I can, but we should to get back to Konoha as soon as possible." Her hand leaves a bloody smear across her forehead, the crimson in sharp contrast to her too-pale skin.

"You've lost too much chakra," Genma warns.

"I'll be okay," Sakura tries to argue, but she sways slightly and nearly collapses on top of Itachi, whose armour is soaked through with blood. Shisui steadies her easily, his hands gentle on her shoulders.

"You need to rest," he says sharply. "We can leave tomorrow."

Sakura shakes her head. "No, we need to get Itachi back to Konoha," she says firmly, turning her attention back to Itachi, beginning the delicate process of trying to clean and salvage his bloody ANBU uniform.

Shisui and Genma exchanged worried glances – it's a testament to how exhausted she is, to be using Itachi's name on a mission – but before they can do anything, Itachi begins to stir. "What's happening?" he demands weakly.

Sakura opens her mouth to speak and slurs something – Shisui thinks it's probably something along the lines of "You're awake" – before she faints. He sets her down gently, checking her pulse. "Chakra exhaustion," he says finally. "Taichou?"

"We'll return to Konoha and recover there," Itachi orders, sitting up. "It's too risky to stay out here."

"Will you be okay, taichou?" Genma asks.

"I'll be fine," Itachi says curtly. "My wound is almost fully healed." He pulls on his mask and gets to his feet smoothly, only the blood on his uniform suggesting that he'd been injured, and even that is soon covered by his white cloak. "I will carry her."

Behind his mask, Genma raises one incredulous eyebrow as Itachi crouches beside Sakura, wiping away the blood on her forehead before he puts her mask on carefully. "Taichou, I don't think that's the best idea," he says dryly. "You've only just been healed; your body needs to recover."

Itachi says nothing as he adjusts Sakura's cloak and pulls on the hood, hiding her distinctive pink hair. Then he bends and gathers Sakura in his arms, cradling her gently, and turns towards the others. "Move out," he says coolly. Genma shuts his mouth.

They travel at nearly full speed towards Konoha. Itachi never stumbles or gives any sign of his own exhaustion; Shisui thinks he catches him glancing down at Sakura frequently, but not matter how many times he or Genma offer to carry her, Itachi refuses. His obstinacy is almost admirable, except for the fact that it means Itachi is sacrificing his own wellbeing in favour of Sakura's.

They barely slow down when they pass through Konoha's main gates – if anything, Itachi seems to speed up – heading straight for the hospital. Shisui nods at Itachi and _shunshins_ the rest of the way there to warn the doctors. Genma and Itachi arrive mere moments after he finishes speaking, startling a few of the medical staff. A few nurses wheel out a mobile hospital bed for Sakura; one of them indicates for Itachi to place her down.

For one moment, Shisui is worried that his cousin's reflexes have been affected by his injury – Itachi visibly pauses as he stands beside the bed, as if unable to understand what is required of him. With his ANBU mask covering his features, Shisui can't tell what he's thinking but the hesitancy of his actions betray his reluctance to let go of Sakura. But he does, setting her down on the bed with the utmost care, and taking the time to make sure he doesn't jostle her as he eases his arms out from beneath her. He lingers by the bed for another moment, staring down at Sakura, before taking a step back and allowing the nurses to wheel her away.

The moment she's gone, Itachi begins to sway – only slightly, but it's enough that Shisui is alarmed. "My captain also requires medical care," he calls, stepping forwards to wrap an arm around Itachi's shoulders. Another hospital bed is wheeled out, and Shisui forcefully guides him towards it, ignoring Itachi's attempts to resist. He refuses to lie down, and soon both Shisui and Genma are holding him down.

It frustrates him to see Itachi so stubborn, especially on matters like this. "She'll be fine," Shisui says in a desperate attempt to calm him down, his voice quiet and soothing. "She'll be okay." And to his surprise, it actually works – Itachi relaxes slightly, the tension in his muscles fading away, so Shisui keeps speaking. "She's going to be fine, don't worry."

"She'll be okay?" Itachi asks, his voice barely audible.

"Yes," Shisui confirms, and he can pinpoint the exact moment his words sink in, because Itachi lets his eyes close. "She's going to be okay."

* * *

_six_

"Please, please, _please_, let me do something!" Sakura gives Shizune her best puppy eyes. "I'll work in the civilian sector – I can heal without chakra, just let me do _something_."

"Sorry, Sakura," Shizune says apologetically, smiling helplessly. "Hokage's orders – you've been given a week's leave, and that includes working at the hospital."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Sakura asks. "I spent the whole morning catching up on my paperwork – that's how bored I am, Shizune-sempai."

"Well, if you're really bored, you can always help Tsunade-sama with her paperwork," Shizune suggests slyly.

Sakura groans. "I can't believe I'm actually considering it," she says gloomily, staring at the ceiling.

Shizune pats her hand sympathetically. "I can drop by your place during my lunch break and grab you more books, if you want," she offers. "See you then, Sakura."

"Thanks, Shizune-sempai," Sakura says, smiling weakly. As soon as the door clicks shut behind her, though, Sakura sighs loudly. As much as she loves reading, it's not something she can do for hours on end, and she has nothing to break the monotony. She'd been forbidden from any strenuous activity, which limits her to leisurely strolls around the hospital, but those only serve to make her more frustrated. Visitors were unlikely, considering that most of her friends were out on missions, but not impossible – she'd had a surprise visit from one Uchiha Fugaku the day before, and Shizune dropped by as often as she could but it wasn't enough.

As if to prove her wrong, someone knocks on the door.

"Come in," Sakura calls automatically.

"Forgive my intrusion," Uchiha Itachi says politely. "Are you busy?"

Sakura blinks up at him, and is rather proud of the fact that she's not openly gaping. "No, it's fine," she reassures. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Itachi answers. He raises an eyebrow at her, then at a plastic chair in the corner. When she shrugs, he drags it over to her bedside and sits, now suddenly on eye level with her.

"How are you feeling?" Sakura asks, eyeing him critically. He wears simple shinobi gear in favour of a hospital gown, but he still looks too pale. "You haven't been discharged yet, right?"

"Tomorrow," Itachi says, looking completely unfazed by the fact that he has to spend another day doing nothing in the hospital. He must be as bored as her, or worse. At her raised eyebrow, he adds, "The wound is nearly fully recovered, so the doctors allowed me to walk around the hospital."

"That's good to hear," Sakura says, resisting the urge to check for herself. A simple scan with her chakra would have sufficed, but Tsunade had forbidden her from using chakra. "Any pain or discomfort?"

Itachi shakes his head. "None, but my body is quite lethargic."

"My fault, then," Sakura says, smiling wryly. "Intensive healings can have that effect."

"I would rather be lethargic than dead," Itachi says solemnly, but his lips twitch into a faint smile when she gives him an incredulous glance. "I owe you my life, Sakura."

"And I owe you mine, since you were protecting me," Sakura counters. "Really, it's fine."

"You have my deepest gratitude," Itachi continues, resting one of his hands lightly on hers. It envelopes hers completely, but his touch remains warm and gentle and comforting. "Thank you, Sakura."

Before she can respond, Itachi stands suddenly, his hand dropping to his side as he does. He bows deeply – far too deeply for someone who is her senior in age and rank – and smiles at her, before leaving the room. Sakura can only stare in disbelief at the door as it clicks shut, but before she can even begin to process what just happened, someone hammers on the door and flings it open.

"Sakura–" Tsunade stops mid-stride as Sakura jumps, looking completely astonished by the Hokage's appearance, and narrows her eyes suspiciously. "You're looking a bit red in the face. Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, I feel fine," Sakura says innocently, not quite meeting Tsunade's gaze.

Tsunade raises a sceptical eyebrow at her blushing apprentice, but decides not to comment on it. "Now, what's this I hear about you wanting to do my paperwork?"

* * *

_seven _

In the middle of their sparring match, both Sasuke and Sakura pause when a familiar chakra signature appears on the training grounds. Exchanging glances, they fall out of their stances simultaneously, automatically straightening as Itachi approaches.

"Taichou," Sakura greets, bowing deeply as Sasuke glowers and mutters, "Aniki."

"My apologies for interrupting your training," Itachi says mildly, unfazed by Sasuke's scowl as he turns to Sakura. "Hokage-sama requests your presence immediately."

"Of course." Sakura nods curtly, but her expression softens when she glances at Sasuke. "Sorry," she murmurs apologetically.

"Hn," Sasuke grumbles, but he waves her off. "Don't be late for your meeting."

"Thanks," Sakura says, smiling wryly, but as she prepares to _shunshin_ to the Hokage's office, Itachi steps in front of her.

"It will be faster this way," is all he says, face impassive as he offers his hand. Sakura takes it without hesitation, and his fingers close securely around hers. The last thing she sees is Sasuke's bemused expression before Itachi's chakra wraps around her, comforting in its familiarity. When she blinks, moments later, she's outside Tsunade's office.

"Thanks, taichou," Sakura says, and pauses. Itachi is still holding on to her hand, fingers clasped gently but firmly around hers; his grip is light enough that she could break it easily. She blushes lightly and stares at him in confusion, waiting for him to realise he's still holding her hand. Itachi simply holds her gaze, expression neutral as he watches her.

Sakura glances at their joined hands uncertainly. It's extremely unusual for Itachi not to realise something as obvious as their physical contact – unless, of course, he's doing it on purpose. Meeting his gaze once more, she opens her mouth to speak but Itachi releases his grip, letting her hand drop to her side, and holds open the door to Tsunade's office, gesturing for her to enter first. Sakura closes her mouth and shoots him a confused look as she steps into the room; if he notices – and there's no doubt about it, of course he noticed – he doesn't say anything.

* * *

_eight_

"Masks off," Tsunade orders briskly. "Uchiha, report."

The members of Squad Nine pull their masks off in unison, and Itachi steps forward to make his report. Although the mission had been a success, it had been long and gruelling, and Sakura is glad to be back in Konoha. Glancing sideways, she smothers a grin when she sees Shisui's unruly hair, made even more so by the absence of his mask. Her hair must be even messier, judging from the way greasy strands of pink hang in front of her face, partially obscuring her vision, even though it's tied in a ponytail.

"Dismissed," Tsunade says, not even bothering to look up as they bow and file out silently. Outside the office, Sakura sighs loudly and stretches; she's more than ready to go home and sleep for the next twelve hours.

"I'm exhausted," Shisui says, voicing her own thoughts. "Taichou, we don't have any mission scheduled for the next few days, right?"

"Not unless the Hokage assigns us one," Itachi replies quietly, but even he is showing signs of exhaustion – his skin is slightly paler than normal, the tear troughs under his eyes more pronounced than usual; his words are less crisp, the usual authoritativeness of his voice fading into something more casual. "Good job, Squad Nine. Get some rest."

"Yes, taichou," Shisui says, bowing slightly to his cousin before he _shunshins_ away without a trace of smoke.

"Yes, taichou," Genma agrees, and does the same.

"Yes, tai–" Sakura begins, but Itachi interrupts her with a soft, "Sakura."

She pauses automatically when she hears Itachi's quiet voice and turns to face him. "Yes, taichou?"

Itachi meets and holds her gaze, the look in his eyes so warm and intense her mouth goes dry. She holds herself still, hardly daring to breathe as he reaches out and brushes a lock of pink hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear. Sakura swallows nervously as his fingers skim lightly across her skin, the gentle movement matching his tender expression. She wonders if she's imagining the way his hand lingers on her cheek, her jaw, before it drops to his side.

With her heart pounding in her chest, Sakura stares up at Itachi and for one brief moment, wonders if he's going to kiss her. The notion is not entirely unwelcome, she has to admit, but then Itachi straightens to his full height and the moment is gone. He smiles at her, and she's startled by how genuine it is, how warm and affectionate he's being towards her, but before she can say anything, he vanishes with a small puff of smoke.

Sakura blinks and presses her hands to her cheeks, unsurprised by their warmth. There's no other way to interpret his actions – now that she thinks about it, it's hardly the first time Itachi has touched her so familiarly, but it's definitely the first time he's made his intentions clear, which means all the other times…

Sakura can't help the silly grin that spreads across her face as she _shunshins_ to her apartment, but it soon turns into a smirk. Squad Nine might not have any missions for the next few days, but Team Seven has their weekly dinner at the Uchiha household tomorrow night – which means she'll be seeing Itachi a lot sooner than he thinks.

* * *

_bonus_

Tsunade raises her eyebrows incredulously as she watches Itachi tuck some of Sakura's hair behind her ear, smiling gently down at her in a rare display of emotion. His flirting seems to leave Sakura a little stunned – especially when he vanishes straight after – but her apprentice comes to her senses quickly and disappears as well, Tsunade is pleased to see.

Shizune walks into the Hokage's office and refrains from sighing loudly when she sees said Hokage smirking. "Tsunade-sama, were you spying on Sakura?"

Ignoring Shizune's warning glare, Tsunade takes a swig from her sake bottle and shrugs, completely shameless about being caught spying on her apprentice and drinking on the job. "Well, for someone who's been an ANBU captain since he was 13, Itachi hasn't exactly been subtle," she drawls.

Shizune maintains her disapproving look for another two seconds and sighs. "Well, you're not wrong," she admits, and, against her better judgement, shares a smirk with the Hokage.

* * *

**Incident 2 is set directly after Masked, Incidents 5 and 6 are set before and after the fourth snippet from Observations, respectively, and are directly linked. All the other incidents have an unspecified amount of time in between. **

**I think Incidents 4, 5 and 8 were the most difficult to write – 4, because there was fighting, and I didn't know how to end it; 5, because of hospital procedures and things like that, and 8, because that one was a lot more direct and intentional, on Itachi's behalf, and also because there were feelings. **

**Still, this was a lot of fun to write, and I don't think I've finished writing in this non-mass AU, so look out for more oneshots! As always, any feedback is appreciated :)**


End file.
